Television Food Advertising to Children: A Global Perspective
RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
Television Food Advertising to Children: A Global Perspective ˜ Bridget Kelly, MPH, Jason C.G. Halford, PhD, Emma J. Boyland, MSc, MBA, Kathy Chapman, MS, Inmaculada Bautista-Castano, MD, PhD, Christina Berg, PhD, Margherita Caroli, MD, PhD, Brian Cook, PhD, Janine G. Coutinho, MSc, Tobias Effertz, PhD, Evangelia Grammatikaki, MSc, Kathleen Keller, PhD, Raymond Leung, M Med, Yannis Manios, PhD, Renata Monteiro, PhD, Claire Pedley, MSc, Hillevi Prell, MSc, Kim Raine, PhD, Elisabetta Recine, PhD, Lluis Serra-Majem, PhD, Sonia Singh, MS, and Carolyn Summerbell, PhD
Excess weight in children is a significant global public health issue: 10% of school-aged children,1 and a further 22 million children younger than 5 years,2 are estimated to be overweight or obese. Although the absolute prevalence of childhood obesity varies between and within countries,3 obesity levels are rising across the globe.4 Food marketing to children has been recognized as 1 factor contributing to the obesitypromoting environment, and it is considered an important arena for action in the prevention of obesity.5 Systematic reviews have found that marketing generates positive beliefs about advertised foods and influences children’s food preferences, purchase requests, and consumption.6–8 These findings are a concern because advertised foods are typically the antithesis of dietary recommendations.9 Evidence from psychological research indicates that children, particularly those younger than 8 years, are not fully aware of the persuasive intent of food marketing and tend to accept advertising as truthful, accurate, and unbiased.8,10 Older children, although they may understand that advertising is intended to sell a product, may not be able to interpret these messages critically.10 Only a few studies have compared international patterns of television food advertising to children. One of these found that food and beverages were the most highly advertised products and that
Television Food Advertising to Children: A Global Perspective ˜ Bridget Kelly, MPH, Jason C.G. Halford, PhD, Emma J. Boyland, MSc, MBA, Kathy Chapman, MS, Inmaculada Bautista-Castano, MD, PhD, Christina Berg, PhD, Margherita Caroli, MD, PhD, Brian Cook, PhD, Janine G. Coutinho, MSc, Tobias Effertz, PhD, Evangelia Grammatikaki, MSc, Kathleen Keller, PhD, Raymond Leung, M Med, Yannis Manios, PhD, Renata Monteiro, PhD, Claire Pedley, MSc, Hillevi Prell, MSc, Kim Raine, PhD, Elisabetta Recine, PhD, Lluis Serra-Majem, PhD, Sonia Singh, MS, and Carolyn Summerbell, PhD
Excess weight in children is a significant global public health issue: 10% of school-aged children,1 and a further 22 million children younger than 5 years,2 are estimated to be overweight or obese. Although the absolute prevalence of childhood obesity varies between and within countries,3 obesity levels are rising across the globe.4 Food marketing to children has been recognized as 1 factor contributing to the obesitypromoting environment, and it is considered an important arena for action in the prevention of obesity.5 Systematic reviews have found that marketing generates positive beliefs about advertised foods and influences children’s food preferences, purchase requests, and consumption.6–8 These findings are a concern because advertised foods are typically the antithesis of dietary recommendations.9 Evidence from psychological research indicates that children, particularly those younger than 8 years, are not fully aware of the persuasive intent of food marketing and tend to accept advertising as truthful, accurate, and unbiased.8,10 Older children, although they may understand that advertising is intended to sell a product, may not be able to interpret these messages critically.10 Only a few studies have compared international patterns of television food advertising to children. One of these found that food and beverages were the most highly advertised products and that